Simultaneous electrical and thermal rectification in a monolayer lateral heterojunction.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Efficient heat dissipation is critical for miniaturized electronic devices, but thermal conductivity in semiconductors typically decreases at higher temperatures.
• Universal Umklapp phonon scattering limits heat transfer in semiconductors under high-power conditions, exacerbating thermal management challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate simultaneous electrical and thermal rectification in a monolayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructure.
• To explore the potential of this heterostructure for enhanced heat dissipation in nanoelectronic applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a monolayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructure.
• Characterization of electrical diode properties, including ON/OFF ratio.
• Measurement of thermal rectification (TR) factor under varying temperature gradients and interface angles.

Main Results:

• The MoSe2-WSe2 heterojunction exhibited diode behavior with a high ON/OFF ratio of 10^4.
• Simultaneous electrical and thermal rectification was achieved, with a TR factor as high as 96% in the ON state.
• Thermal conductivity increased with temperature due to the TR effect, and the TR factor was tunable by adjusting the interface angle.

Conclusions:

• Monolayer MoSe2-WSe2 lateral heterostructures enable simultaneous electrical and thermal rectification.
• This phenomenon provides a pathway for designing advanced nanoelectronic devices with improved thermal management capabilities.
• The tunable nature of the thermal rectification effect offers design flexibility for future electronic components.